Separating the children was the dog whistle to end all dog whistles. Abusing those kids was red meat for the Nazis of today, of America. America’s future? The midterms are looking more crucial by the day
U.S. President Donald Trump announcing his executive order his policy separating immigrant children from parents who cross the U.S. border illegally during a rally in Duluth, Minnesota, June 20, 2018.Bloomberg
It took 500 days and two thousand children in cages for America to see Donald Trump for what he truly is.
In campaign rally after campaign rally, tweet upon tweet, Trump let it be known in no uncertain terms: I am the president of all the people who look at those kids in the cages, and like what they see.
Trump had found the dog whistle of all dog whistles. On his order, not only were brown kids who have no English, stopped at the border, stripped from their parents and even their favorite toys, and warehoused in a repurposed Walmart.
Forget, for the moment, the debate over whether the separation policy was reminiscent of the Holocaust. One thing is for sure – abusing those kids was a master stroke of unambiguous cruelty, red meat for the American Nazis of today, true Nazis, admirers of Hitler, the “very fine people” who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia under the banners of the Confederacy and the Klan and the swastika, and who hail Trump for his evident sadism in deriding the handicapped, women, Hispanics, Muslims, and all migrants of color.
You could see it all in a Tuesday Fox News appearance by Trump’s violent, contemptuous, contemptible former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. When a fellow guest analyst began sympathetically telling the story of one of the children – a 10-year-old girl with Down Syndrome, taken away from her mother – Lewandowski took evident joy in mocking the girl’s plight. He interrupted the story by making a “Womp Womp” sound – an expression that trivializes sadness, or makes fun of failure. He scored further points by refusing to apologize.
Corey Lewandowski Says ‘Womp, Womp’ About Girl with Down Syndrome
What has Trump done? For starters, he has scarred two thousand kids for life. And even though the president made an extravagant show Wednesday of appearing to re-unite the separated families, within hours it emerged that the executive order would not apply to families already separated by the policy. There is no plan in place to re-unite these families.
The children won’t forget this. We know because of the reactions of others who were separated by their parents by the edicts of authoritarian regimes.
In a shattering account, retired teacher and psychotherapist who worked extensively with victims of childhood trauma, Yoka Verdoner, a child survivor of the Holocaust, wrote of her reactions to the Trump border policy in an article titled “Nazis separated me from my parents as a child. The trauma lasts a lifetime.”
The editorial board represents the opinions of the board, its editor and the publisher. It is separate from the newsroom and the Op-Ed sectionL.
Watching President Trump blame Democrats for his administration’s inhumane practice of snatching immigrant children from their parents at the border evokes nothing so much as an abusive husband blaming his wife for the beatings he delivers:
Why do you make me do this? I hate doing this! If you’d only be reasonable and listen to me, things wouldn’t have to be this way.
As anyone paying even minimal attention to politics knows, this immoral policy is not “the Democrats fault for being weak and ineffective with Boarder Security and Crime,” to quote one randomly spelled and capitalized tweet out ofthree to that effect in a little over 12 hours. It’s not really Republicans’ fault, either — at least not yet. Both the Obama and George W. Bush administrations began efforts to curtail the flow of people across the southern border, but neither went so far as to pursue a “zero tolerance” approach that tore apart families en masse. Congress has not passed any bills requiring the practice since then. This bit of nastiness belongs entirely to Mr. Trump — he has made a choice to torment undocumented families — and his attempt to pass the buck is dishonest and gutless. In other words, it’s what we’ve come to expect when Mr. Trump finds himself in an uncomfortable spot.
But the horror show at the border has gotten awkward for Mr. Trump. When the normally fawning Rev. Franklin Graham and other conservative religious leaders start publicly questioning this president’s inerrancy, you know Mr. Trump has really distinguished himself in his iniquity. Even the first lady felt moved to publicly distance herself from her husband’s cruelty, calling for a nation “that governs with heart.” Things have gotten so radioactive that, at a Monday briefing, the homeland security secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, found it easiest to fall back on incoherence, alternating between blaming Congress for the situation and denying that any such situation existed.
Perhaps recognizing the growing political hazard, the president is headed to Capitol Hill Tuesday evening to try to drag Republican House members deeper into his dumpster fire. Marc Short, his legislative affairs director, has said that the president will explain to Republican lawmakers the logic and “history” behind the decision to split up families. “The policy is incredibly complicated, and it is one we need to do a better job of communicating,” Mr. Short said.
Right, that’s the root of the problem here: inelegant messaging.
Mr. Trump is also expected to inject himself into the conference’s already fraught debate over immigration legislation, voicing support for two proposals that the G.O.P. House will likely be voting on in the coming days.
The president’s preferred bill is a hard-line plan fathered by Representative Bob Goodlatte, the Virginia Republican and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. That bill would, among other steps, tighten asylum standards, slash legal immigration by 25 percent by ending both the diversity visa lottery and doing away with most family-based immigration, and consign Dreamers to permanent limbo by requiring them to re-up their status every three years. And, of course, the bill would fund The Wall. It all fits nicely with Mr. Trump’s tendency to talk about immigrants as though every one of them is an aspiring MS-13 foot soldier.
The president also has said — after some initial confusion on his part, according to the White House — that he’d be willing to sign the “compromise” plan hammered out in large part by House leadership. The Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2018, much like Mr. Goodlatte’s bill, would tighten asylum standards, kill the diversity visa and fund The Wall. It would be somewhat more flexible about family-based immigration and make provisions for some Dreamers to ultimately apply for green cards. It would deal with the current policy of splitting up families by allowing for children to be kept in ICE detention along with their parents. Jailing families together: This is what is considered progress in the current immigration climate.
Whatever the details, Mr. Trump will be using the Tuesday meeting as an opportunity for some additional arm-twisting. If Republican lawmakers have any sense of self-preservation, much less moral decency, they will refuse to engage with Mr. Trump over immigration while he is attempting such grotesque political blackmail.
For the president, this vile border mess has become a test to see how hard he can squeeze lawmakers. The White House has made clear that it regards immigrant children as useful levers to force Congress to pass legislation. With the midterms looming, Republican House members are desperate to look like they’re making progress on this issue. Mr. Trump (whose administration is planning a fresh wave of immigration crackdowns in the coming months) is betting that, with enough pressure, he can bend enough nervous moderates to pass a bill through the House on a party-line vote — and maybe, if he keeps hammering away at Democrats, even squeak it through the Senate.
In reality, by making the immigration topic even more radioactive, Mr. Trump has made a rational legislative debate much less likely. House Democrats would be nuts, politically and on policy grounds, to swallow either of the unpalatably conservative plans they are being offered. And even if a bill passes the lower chamber, the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, is unlikely to let his troops take a politically noxious vote during a high-stakes election cycle. No matter how much Mr. Trump beats his chest, it’s hard to see any proposal becoming law any time soon.
Lawmakers should not negotiate with the president until he puts a stop to this “zero tolerance” insanity. Even if Republican members can’t be swayed by the immorality of the practice, they should look at this situation in terms of preserving their own power: If they let Mr. Trump roll them by using innocent children as hostages, he will learn the lesson that brutality is the key to getting what he wants.
Maintaining checks and balances can be tricky with any president, but that’s especially true when a commander in chief has authoritarian impulses. As made evident by his slavering over such brutal autocrats as Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, Mr. Trump believes that effective leadership is all about crushing anyone who stands in your way, collateral damage be damned. If lawmakers aren’t willing to stand up to him in a case where justice and public sentiment are so clearly on their side, they might as well hand him the keys to the Capitol right now.
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Breastfeeding can be awesome — but it can also be difficult, physically exhausting, and isolating.
Parents may choose to breastfeed for a variety of reasons and have a range of experiences with it, but one thing is universal: It helps to have help.
People often tout the natural beauty of breastfeeding, and that can certainly be true. But it’s equally true that nursing can be physically demanding, time-consuming, and — thanks to society’s squeamishness — socially isolating. Even those who love breastfeeding need moral and logistical support, especially from their partners.
Here are some celebrity dads who show us what supportive breastfeeding partners look like:
Keeping breastfeeding partners well-fed and hydrated, like The Rock did, is a good place to start.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson melted hearts with a photo on Instagram of him lovingly feeding his girlfriend while she fed their baby.
“Mama @laurenhashianofficial has her hands full nursing/feeding Baby Tia,” he wrote, “so I’m feedin’ mama her dinner. My pleasure. So much respect to her and all mamas out there holding it down and running things.”
Not only does breastfeeding require hands, it also burns 300-500 calories a day, which can make for ravenous hunger. Nursing requires extra water too, so partners can help by bringing a breastfeeding person food and liquids.
Expressing appreciation for breastfeeding like Justin Baldoni did is another way to show support.
“Jane the Virgin” actor Justin Baldoni didn’t hold back in sharing his awe in watching his wife breastfeed their baby, Maxwell.
“I love watching Emily feed our son,” he wrote on Instagram:
“They share such a deep bond and I can see how much joy it brings her when everything stops and it just the two of them connecting … It still blows my mind at how incredible the female body is and that the only thing my son has eaten since he was born has been produced by my wife.”
Andy Grammer modeled how to support breastfeeding in public without shame.
The singer/songwriter shared a photo of his wife Aijia getting sassy with public breastfeeding shamers on Twitter and sent a shoutout “to all the moms feeding their babies without a care and in style.”
God help anyone that tries to shame @aijiaofficial breastfeeding in public Visiting me on tour and it’s good to have her sass around. Shout out to all the moms feeding their babies without a care and in style
And check out this adorable video of Grammer beatboxing in time to his daughter Louisiana’s hiccups. (Another way to help is burping the baby after feeding time, BTW.)
Partners can also step up in unexpected ways when breastfeeding goes wrong, like Dax Shepard did.
Actress Kristen Bell shared a story on her online show “Momsplaining” about one of the times she had mastitis and wasn’t able to get to the doctor. Mastitis is a painful and potentially dangerous breast infection. Their baby had recently quit breastfeeding, and she needed to express her milk to relieve the pain and pressure.
Bell said she told her husband, “We can talk about it, we can be weird about it, or you can just go ahead and nurse.” So Shepard extracted the milk — yep, like that — and spit it into a cup.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Pimp Dennis Hof, owner of half a dozen legal brothels in Nevada and star of the HBO adult reality series “Cathouse,” won a Republican primary for the state Legislature on Tuesday, ousting a three-term lawmaker.
Hof defeated hospital executive James Oscarson. He’ll face Democrat Lesia Romanov in November, and will be the favored candidate in the Republican-leaning Assembly district.
Hof celebrated his win at a party in Pahrump, Nevada, with “Hollywood Madam” Heidi Fleiss at his side.
“It’s all because Donald Trump was the Christopher Columbus for me,” Hof told The Associated Press in a phone call. “He found the way and I jumped on it.”
Hof, who wrote a book titled “The Art of the Pimp,” has dubbed himself “The Trump of Pahrump,” and held a rally with longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone. Hof was in the limelight in 2015, when former NBA player Lamar Odom was found unconscious at Hof’s Love Ranch brothel in Crystal, Nevada, after a four-day, $75,000 stay.
If Hof wins in November, he wouldn’t be the only brothel owner in elected office — Lance Gilman, the owner of the famous Mustang Ranch in northern Nevada, is a Storey County Commissioner.
Voters in November will decide on closing down brothels in at least one of the seven Nevada counties where they legally operate. The question will be on the ballot in Lyon County, where Hof owns four brothels. Activists are also gathering signatures to try to get a measure on the ballot in Nye County, where Hof owns two more brothels in the desert outside the city of Pahrump.
He painted the anti-brothel efforts as political retribution that’s tied to his opponent, but Oscarson and the referendum backers deny any connection.
Most brothels operate in rural areas of Nevada. They’re banned in the counties that contain Las Vegas and Reno.
Hof said Tuesday he’s downsizing his business by selling off some brothels to focus more on politics.
Oscarson and Hof previously faced off in 2016 when Hof ran for the seat as a Libertarian. Oscarson won with 60 percent of the vote.
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I RARELY DO BOOK REVIEWS, BUT THIS GUY IS A GREAT WRITER, AND THE TIMES ARE RIGHT FOR HIS BOOK.
By Robert Sollars –
For me a momentous occasion…the publication of my 3rd book. Even more momentous is if it will help to save the lives of children everywhere with the ideas that I put forward. You should know that many of the ideas that are professed in it I have had for decades but never recognized by society at large, being characterized as unworkable, stupid, idiotic, and just down right living on Pluto! But now…many professionals in the security field are saying the exact same thing as I did back then, in a poorly written book if you really want to read it, and this new one…professionally edited.
I think it is sensible to inform you of what is inside this book and why you should purchase it;
#1 it takes the problem of shootings in schools and our society giving practical everyday advice for how to prevent them.
#2 There is no one person, set of people, or items to blame for this issue, although…
#3 It gives the necessary items we need to stop these shootings and none of them costing hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars.
#4It has some revolutionary ideas and goes against the grain on more than a few subjects, but then I’ve always thought outside and gone against conventional wisdom…usually in the dark corner of the parking lot where there are no lights and been touted as a revolutionary.
The following chapters are in the book, although this is not the complete list;
The basic tenets of preventing school violence…which utilizes some of the items and quotes I’ve used for decades
The myths of school violence, you may be surprised at them
Where it occurs, again you may be shocked at where it happens
Attitudes that foster violence, whose attitudes…
Average profile of a perpetrator, maybe
Parental responsibility, guaranteed to illicit a few guffaws
School accountability, another cluster of guffaws
Warning signs, probably the most important aspect of the book & the longest chapter
Basic Security planning, not so tough and not expensive either
Don’t let your children become prey, another area I’ll hear gasps of shock and guffaws
Training, nothing to be said here…except who will be trained and in what?
Zero tolerance policies, think they are great? Hate to burst your bubble but…
Is this all the chapters? Nope, but if you want the rest then you will have to buy it. I will give three things that are in it, however to hopefully entice you to at least read it;
#1 Parents are as much to blame, in most cases, as the shooters themselves
#2 Zero tolerance policies don’t work and have never worked with an explanation and examples to show why
#3 Schools have nearly the same culpability as parents when it comes to stopping these incidents
For the sake of your children, grandchildren, or those of friends and family members you need to have this book. The practical advice you will receive will come from, as a reviewer of my 2014 book on workplace violence, put it, “It’s like your own crusty old uncle speaking to you.” It is blunt, direct, and to the point with no sugar coating to not offend someone. As the quote I like states
“If you are not annoying someone with what you write, then why write?” Kingsley Anis
“I know what I bring to the table, therefore I am not afraid to eat alone.”
If any of you reading this post and/or book wish to get the words and solutions out there, then please feel free to contact your local media outlets and inform them. I would be happy to appear in print, on the radio, or a remote television interview to help save lives …be they ours, grandchildren, or just friends of them. I would also be more than happy to provide workshops & seminars for any school or district who would wish one.
Thank you for purchasing this book that can save children’s lives and then reviewing it for me, good or bad, on Amazon or any other book review site that takes freelance reviews. If you wish an excerpt and see the cover before purchasing look here
Robert D. Sollars assists organizations to safeguard the lives of their employees & students to lessen their risk of violence as well as other security related issues with time tested and proven ideas.
He is now the author of 3 books on preventing violence in both schools and businesses, the last reviewed here: Murder in the Classroom: A Practical Guide for Prevention
The way the internet is regulated in the US is about to change.
The controversial repeal of Obama-era net neutrality protections is officially set to take effect on Monday, despite ongoing efforts from members of Congress, state officials, tech companies and advocacy groups to save the rules.
The Republican-led Federal Communications Commission voted along party lines in December to repeal the rules, which were intended to prevent internet providers from blocking, speeding up, or slowing down access to specific online services.
The order required the approval of the Office of Management and Budget, which the FCC announced receiving last month. In a statement at the time, FCC chairman Ajit Pai framed the upcoming repeal as removing burdensome regulations.
“Now, on June 11, these unnecessary and harmful internet regulations will be repealed and the bipartisan, light-touch approach that served the online world well for nearly 20 years will be restored,” Pai said in a statement last month.
An FCC spokesperson confirmed to CNN this week that the timetable is proceeding as previously announced.
“June 11 is significant because it will be the first time in the over 15 year battle over net neutrality that the FCC will have essentially no role in preserving an open Internet and overseeing the broadband market,” Gigi Sohn, a counselor to former FCC chairman Tom Wheeler and a staunch supporter of net neutrality, told CNNMoney.
The concern among net neutrality advocates is that the repeal could give internet providers too much control over how online content is delivered. It may also make it harder for the next generation of online services to compete if they have to pay up to be placed in a so-called internet fast lane.
“Those ‘fast lanes’ will put those who won’t or cannot pay in the slow lane, making the internet look a lot like cable TV,” Sohn says.
But even those who oppose the repeal say very little is likely to change right away given pending litigation and possible legislation to settle the issue.
“Nothing will change the next day,” says Kevin Werbach, an associate professor of legal studies at Wharton and former FCC adviser. “Companies are not going to take any major action to change their policies until it’s resolved.”
Last month, the Senate passed a measure to preserve the net neutrality rules. On Thursday, with the official repeal date looming, dozens of senators sent a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan urging him to schedule a vote on the issue.
A collection of advocacy groups has called for “mass online actions” on June 11 to once again call attention to the issue and pressure Congress to act.
“It’s an uphill fight,” says Chris Lewis, VP of Public Knowledge, a tech advocacy group that has urged the House to take action. The Republican-led House, and President Trump, are both thought to be unlikely to back the Senate’s measure.
This local legislation could lead to a legal showdown, however.
A spokeswoman for the FCC previously directed CNNMoney to a section of the final order for net neutrality, in which the FCC asserts authority to prevent states from pursuing laws inconsistent with the net neutrality repeal.
“It’s patently illegal for the states to make their own internet policy,” Roslyn Layton, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who served on President Trump’s transition team for the FCC, told CNNMoney last month.
The general uncertainty around the future of net neutrality is likely to extend through much of this year, according to those pushing for legislation and litigation, if not longer.
“We’ll see what happens after the [midterm] election,” Lewis says.
On Friday, June 8, world-renowned chef and host of “Parts Unknown” Anthony Bourdain was found dead in a hotel room in France.
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Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images.
The 61-year-old celebrity reportedly died from an apparent suicide.
Bourdain, who seemingly had a wonderful, fulfilling life, has been uncommonly open about mental illness, his struggles with addiction, and the challenges of dealing with depression while being a leader in the food industry. For many, Bourdain was a glimpse at what a dream job and life could entail. Traveling, eating, and making people around the world feel like their culture is meaningful, without demeaning or belittling their way of life.
Anthony Bourdain had my dream job. You can be living everyone else’s dream and be in total anguish. Check in with your people, even those who are outwardly doing well or seemingly in their prime. You. Never. Know.
Anthony Bourdain’s rise in the chef community was profound and a true example of the American dream. A 1978 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Bourdain found his love of cooking on a trip to France.
After rising the ranks in New York City kitchens, Bourdain spent many years as executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles. His 2000 book “Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly” was his first big step making a name for himself in the industry. From there, a series of books and travel-food hybrid shows followed, including “A Cook’s Tour” and perhaps his most well-known work, “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.”
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Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival.
Bourdain grew in popularity not only because of an unparalleled work ethic and a particular, distinctive food taste but also for his ability to explore other nations far different from our own in an ethical and understanding way.Using food as a bridge, Bourdain looked for the ways humans could connect and amplified that message.
Wilkine Brutus@wilkinebrutus
Anthony Bourdain on humanity:
“Meals make the society, hold the fabric together in lots of ways that were charming and interesting and intoxicating to me. The perfect meal, or the best meals, occur in a context that frequently has very little to do with the food itself.” RIP
Bourdain’s death is a shock to the world and I’m not afraid to admit it hit me especially hard. In a particularly challenging 12 months of life, Bourdain’s show, his charisma, and his writing brought a level of joy and inspiration that’s helped me get through some tough days.
Bourdain brought global culture and cuisine to the living rooms of people around the world.
Bourdain’s love of exploring the world showed in every aspect of his life and work. Bourdain’s ability to bring countries like Italy, Vietnam, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and so many others to the dinner table with admiration and praise was a characteristic he mastered. It made our world better, more understanding, and less divided, and his impact will have lasting effects in an ever-changing society.
Separating the children was the dog whistle to end all dog whistles. Abusing those kids was red meat for the Nazis of today, of America. America’s future? The midterms are looking more crucial by the day by Bradley Burston – U.S. President Donald Trump announcing his executive order his policy separating immigrant children from parents […]
By NYT The Editorial Board- The editorial board represents the opinions of the board, its editor and the publisher. It is separate from the newsroom and the Op-Ed sectionL. Watching President Trump blame Democrats for his administration’s inhumane practice of snatching immigrant children from their parents at the border evokes nothing so much as an abusive h […]
With wildfire season at hand, California on slightly safer footing this year by Kurtis Alexander –More 1 of 7 Marin County Fire Department trainees coordinate to extinguish a blaze during a wildfire exercise in San Rafael. Photo: Photos by Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle 2 of 7 Marin County Fire Department trainee Tim McDevitt gets guidance from instructor [ […]
by Annie Reneau – Breastfeeding can be awesome — but it can also be difficult, physically exhausting, and isolating. Parents may choose to breastfeed for a variety of reasons and have a range of experiences with it, but one thing is universal: It helps to have help. People often tout the natural beauty of breastfeeding, and […]
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Pimp Dennis Hof, owner of half a dozen legal brothels in Nevada and star of the HBO adult reality series “Cathouse,” won a Republican primary for the state Legislature on Tuesday, ousting a three-term lawmaker. Hof defeated hospital executive James Oscarson. He’ll face Democrat Lesia Romanov in November, and will be […]
Visiting me on tour and it’s good to have her sass around. Shout out to all the moms feeding their babies without a care and in style 
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